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Production of UK textile and apparel increased 2.5 per cent over the last two years. Exports rose 28 per cent from 2012 to 2016. Apparel exports alone increased by 41 per cent from 2012 to 2016. The Textiles Growth Program has helped create 1,600 jobs and 115 apprenticeship positions in England in its first year. So far, over 340 manufacturing companies have invested in the program, creating an additional 4,450 jobs and 380 apprenticeships.
The continued rise in exports is driven by a number of factors including an increased interest in heritage UK manufacturing, the creativity of British fashion designers as well as the importance of the UK as a key apparel trading hub.
The UK textile and apparel industry has always been well recognized around the world as one of the most influential players in the global market for its leading position in fashion designing, manufacturing, retailing and fashion education. There was a slowdown in growth over the past few years due to the strong competition from emerging Asian countries and uncertainty from Brexit.
New investment and government support are expected to further boost industry growth by creating more jobs, supporting more capital projects, training more skilled workers, and facilitating R&D.
American company providing fashion technology solutions globally, Tukatech, is looking at expanding market share in India’s apparel industry. The company at present occupies a 85 per cent market of share of educational institutions and a 60 per cent share of the apparel industry in India.
Having served almost all high-end international and national brands, its focus is now to bring the technology to the small and medium apparel industry. Its latest innovation — the TUKA3D Enterprise Edition — aims to increase efficiency in product development, thereby reducing the time and cost in developing new samples and enabling effective global communications and faster sample approvals through TUKA Cloud.
The company aims to revolutionise the small and medium sector in the apparel industry. TUKA3D Enterprise Edition includes all high-functioning 3D development capabilities for a virtual product development at a more attainable price. TUKA Cloud is a web-based sample room for digital collaboration.
This solution serves as a database of virtual samples, and is also a communications platform that enables product development to take place in a digital environment, reminiscent of the traditional design process. Going virtual has allowed apparel manufacturers to reduce their product development time considerably, and increase their first-sample acceptance rate.
Pakistan is helping the entire chain of the textile sector to adopt and upgrade to new technology. A textile corner will be set up which will provide guidance and awareness to exporters to adopt new technologies in order to improve the quality of their products. It will also help in sensitizing textilers to promote value addition and earn more profit from their exportable surplus. The textile corner is meant to bridge the gap between industry and academia. Funds have been allotted to carry out research activities and bring about a qualitative improvement in industry-academia linkages.
Textile experts hailing from different sectors will visit this corner and advise concerned industrialists on solving their immediate problems. In some areas textile testing facilities are scarce and exporters have to send their products for this purpose to foreign laboratories. This process is very costly and time consuming. So such facilities will be set up wherever possible.
The textile industry is the biggest industry of Pakistan, earning foreign exchange worth $12 billion per annum for the country. However, the country’s textile exports have been declining for many years due to international recession coupled with energy crisis and inconsistent domestic policies.
Nike has a patent for architecturally reinforced denim. For a company that prides itself on innovation, it's no ordinary denim. The fabric has moisture management, stretch materials and performance zones. Like any Nike product, it is designed for athletes, not office workers.
The patent describes the denim as useful for extreme athletes, such as BMX riders and skateboarders, who require specialized gear that must be comfortable and protective, but prefer clothing and other gear that are fashionable and attractive.
Sportswear giant Nike has thousands of patents for sneakers and apparel. Its patent activity now rivals some technology heavyweights.
Nike is the world’s largest athletic apparel and gear maker. Nike’s gear is widely seen on courts and running trails, but the brand also has remained on-trend as part of the growing consumer interest in athleisure — a term that describes the growing acceptance of wearing athletic apparel and shoes just about anywhere. The company has started online retail operations in India via its portal. India-based users can now order from the global portal and have it home delivered.
Earlier, only certain markets such as Australia, Honga Kong and Indonesia were being served by the online division of the company.
A Recent survey has found Laos one of the last surviving communist country in the Indo China Peninsula is a safe haven for exporting beyond the clutches of China’s monopoly. Laos has maintained a concrete export corridor with the European Union. Germany an active member in the EU is a leading trade partner of Laos due to bilateral trade policy.
Laos and the European Union (EU) also have a bilateral trade cooperation agreement that allows a number of Lao products, mostly woven textiles and clothing, to be exported to various parts of Europe. From 2013-16 the Lao exported garments worth over $221.31 million to Germany while unprocessed coffee products came in second with a value of more than $26 million. In fact, Laos has exported over 40 products to Germany; including agricultural products, handicrafts and beverages with a value of more than $262.38 million.
EU cooperation also helps Laos develop and improve its trade policy and capacity to maximize its economic development and poverty reduction as well as help it integrate into the world economy. European Union is also trying to remove the monopoly set by Chinese companies in the peninsula.
Established in 1962 Shima Seiki has become a brand to be reckoned with. Shima Seiki Japan is the leading manufacturer in the computerized flatbed knitting machine industry, with the largest worldwide market share. With over 100 attendees and 50 companies participating at the previous edition, G3D seminars and workshops has been seen positive response. The purpose of the symposium is to bring together representatives from all across the apparel industry to focus on the future of the industry.
On display will be Shima Seiki’s flagship Mach2XS Wholegarment knitting machine featuring the original Slide Needle™ on four needle beds and spring-type moveable sinkers. Mach2XS offers high efficiency and stability with extended patterning capability while knitting wholegarment items. The compact SWG061N2 Wholegarment knitting machine offers flexible production as well as the capability for producing technical textiles for sports, medical and other industrial applications. The new SVR123SP computerized flat knitting machine features a loop presser bed with inlay capability, offering new and exciting possibilities in hybrid knit-weave textiles. The compact SSR112 workhorse machine will also be on display to demonstrate the leading edge in computerized shaped knitting technology.
Also on show will be the SDS-ONE APEX3 3D design system that is at the core of Shima Seiki’s “Total Fashion System” concept integrating knit production into one smooth and efficient workflow from planning and design to machine programming, production and even sales promotion.
Football mega-star Cristiano Ronaldo has announced the launch of new CR7 Denim line in June. The superstar already designs and models male underwear for his own fashion label, CR7, and now hopes to score with quality jeans that move as easily as he does.
It’s being produced and distributed by Uniti Fashion, a sourcing and manufacturing company founded in South Africa. The line is designed around the premise of comfort and high-fashion influences. He wished these jeans to be made to be lived in. A longtime fan of skinny jeans, his new collection offers denim junkies four styles modern straight, slim straight, tapered and super skinny.
The men’s denim collection is made from three types of fabric that either include stretch or are washed down to allow full movement. The assortment includes a core, signature and fashion collection. The 32-year-old says he believes in constantly moving forward and progressing in life, both on and off the playing field. The star actually wore them in a brand campaign film, and haven’t been able to take them off since. The line, to be available from June 1, will also include denim shirts, jackets and shorts
Brand Finance has rated Brandix as Sri Lanka’s most valuable export brand for the third consecutive year. Brandix leads a group of highly respected export brands in apparel, IT, tea, manufacturing, processed foods, services and printing. The group has been Sri Lanka’s top exporter across all industries for the past four years. In all, it has won 25 presidential export awards to date.
Brand Finance considers attributes like a brand’s corporate vision, reputation and image, leadership and people, degree of innovation and quality consciousness. The pioneer of the concept of total solutions in Sri Lanka’s apparel sector, and a preferred supplier to top retail brands in the US and Europe, Brandix is also a benchmark and international award winner for eco-friendly manufacture and commitment to environmental best practice.
Brandix has set up a textile park in Andhra Pradesh. The workforce comprises mostly women from rural areas, with a schooling ranging between seventh and tenth grades. They are trained to manufacture products for international brands and labels. The park produces over two lakh pieces of intimate apparel in a day. The unique, integrated apparel supply chain city is spread over 1,000 acres and brings alive an avant garde fiber to store concept. It brings together world class apparel chain partners from the design table to consumer brands in flawless integration. It includes spinning, fabric manufacturing, apparel production, accessories, finishing to warehousing and logistics.
Birla Century has been awarded the STeP by Oeko-Tex certification by Hohenstein for sustainable textile production. Birla Century is the first fabric manufacturer in India to get this award and is a division of Century Textiles & Industries. The certification on sustainable production means that a large volume of textiles produced by Century Textiles & Industries would now be considered eco-friendly or sustainable. The certification covers the whole chain of manufacturing, right from spinning to weaving to yarn processing and to fabric processing.
A meticulous assessment was carried out, including the company audit in relation to environmentally friendly production processes and socially responsible working conditions. This entire process also included the handling of various textile chemicals and possible hazardous materials, measurement of environmental performance using a wide range of criteria, the implementation of an environmental management system, as well as the company’s social responsibility in relation to employees, efficient quality management and safety in the workplace.
For customers of Birla Century, the STeP certification will establish a firm basis for placing more trust in the company as a responsible textile producer. The certification allows Birla Century to communicate its commitment to sustainable production to its customers, suppliers and other stakeholders in a credible manner.
Active wear or athleisure has caught on in a big way. It translates effortlessly from gym wear into street wear. The newest entrants in the active wear race are blurring the line between workout and one’s everyday wardrobe. Athleisure has replaced denim as the go-to for everyday casual looks for women.
Global active wear sales have leapt 42 per cent over the past seven years and could jump more than 30 per cent by 2020. So there may soon be 20-somethings who have never owned a pair of jeans. Women are shopping for items that are both fashionable and functional as the athleisure trend complements the busy modern woman’s lifestyle.
Athleisure is a hybrid of business casual and athletic wear, which has essentially created an entirely new category of clothing. Many of the clothes that people now consider work-appropriate incorporate sports-inspired materials like spandex, Lycra, and other synthetic fibers.
While athletic wear was created for a specific use - sports or athletics- athleisure clothing isn't. And it's this versatility that has attracted many consumers to the category. It can be worn in most offices and social situations. It's also generally more durable, with properties like wrinkle and odor resistance incorporated into its tech-infused fibers.
